More U.S. Military Forces Are Being Deployed To Iraq

© Alaa Al-Marjani / Reuters

Military Times: Another escalation in Iraq: The U.S. Army sends new reinforcements to Mosul

WASHINGTON — An unspecified number of combat soldiers from the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division have been ordered to northern Iraq, marking the Pentagon's latest escalation in what's been a slow-moving campaign to flush Islamic State fighters from their stronghold in the city of Mosul.

"Additional members of 2/82 BCT are deploying to Iraq on a non-enduring temporary mission to provide additional 'advise and assist' support to our Iraq partners as they liberate Mosul," U.S. officials in Baghdad told Military Times on Sunday. The unit designation refers to the division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, a force of more than 4,000 based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

A brigade combat team comprises infantry, artillery and cavalry troops, plus their supply pipeline. About 1,700 soldiers from the same unit are overseas now, spread between Iraq and Kuwait. It's unclear whether the full remainder — approximately 2,500 paratroopers — will receive deployment orders. Earlier this month, a top Army general told Congress there were plans to do precisely that, and distribute those personnel within Iraq and Syria.

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Update #1: US sending around 200 more troops to Middle East, official says (FOX News)
Update #2: The US Army Is Deploying More Troops To Mosul (Task & Purpose).

WNU Editor: If the battle to liberate the rest of Mosul becomes bogged down .... expect more U.S. forces to be deployed.